If a little thinking is good, a lot is better. That’s wrong, insists psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, whose ground breaking research shows the downside of stewing over life’s issues. It amplifies sadness and makes problems harder to solve.
The dangers of overthinking don’t strike the sexes equally: Women ruminate more, she says in her new book. Women Who Think Too Much which tells why overthinking occurs and hurts people.
Her studies show women often fall into what she calls “endless analysis of the past, present and future.” If they’re upset, they tend to call friends who hold a magnifying glass to every little angle. At the first sign of a problem, men go out and play a sport or find another distractions. “Later,” they say Women are about twice as likely as men to develop depression. Women who act more like men have the same depression rate as men.
USA Today